True Detective (2014–)

Following up on new leads, Wayne and Roland track down a man who left the police force in the midst of the Purcell investigation. Meanwhile, Amelia visits Lucy Purcell's best friend in hopes of gaining insights into the whereabouts of the mysterious one-eyed man. [more inside]posted by filthy light thief on Feb 18 at 8:03 AM - 19 comments

Wayne and Roland revisit discrepancies in the Purcell case that were hidden or forgotten, and take another look at Tom Purcell and Lucy's cousin, Dan O' Brien; the glitter of Amelia's book release is tarnished by a voice from the past. [more inside]posted by filthy light thief on Feb 11 at 8:05 AM - 14 comments

Wayne finds himself in a no-win situation as new clues emerge in the Purcell case. Roland wrestles with how to keep evidence secure as lawyers demand a new investigation. Amelia finds her relationship with Wayne imperiled by her writing aspirations and his jealousy. [Official synopsis] [more inside]posted by filthy light thief on Feb 4 at 7:19 AM - 11 comments

Hays and West see a possible connection between the local church and the Purcell crimes. As the detectives search for one suspect and round up another for interrogation, Woodard is targeted by a vigilante group. posted by fleacircus on Jan 27 at 11:38 PM - 14 comments

Hays recalls his early romance with Amelia, as well as cracks in their relationship that surfaced after they married; ten years after the Purcell crimes, new evidence emerges, giving Hays a second chance to vindicate himself and the investigation. posted by fleacircus on Jan 21 at 3:44 PM - 20 comments

Hays looks back at the aftermath of the 1980 Purcell case, including possible evidence left behind at an outdoor hangout for local kids; as attention focuses on two conspicuous suspects, the parents of the missing children receive a cryptic note. posted by fleacircus on Jan 14 at 9:37 PM - 12 comments

Retired detective Wayne Hays (Mahershala Ali), has a memory problem, and memories of a memory problem, all relating to the case of the missing Purcell children in West Finger, Arkansas, thirty-five year ago. [more inside]posted by fleacircus on Jan 14 at 3:13 PM - 17 comments

Ani and Ray find another connection that leads through Ani's family. Frank tries to reclaim his old life in crime. Paul makes a major breakthrough in the case. All the while Ani gets some bad news, Ray tries to reconnect, and Paul sees a new opportunity. The task force closes in on a suspect, but it doesn't quite go as planned. [more inside]posted by codacorolla on Jul 13, 2015 at 6:53 AM - 86 comments

Ani lets Ray know she's in charge after he goes rogue on the investigation, even though he stumbles on crucial evidence that takes the case in a new direction. Meanwhile, Frank meets with his former associates in the criminal underworld, but they make it clear they're not taking orders from him anymore; and Paul hits the streets to see if Caspere's face rings a bell. [more inside]posted by radioamy on Jul 5, 2015 at 7:56 PM - 98 comments

"Sometimes I wonder how many things you have like that, that I don't know about"
Frank Semyon shares a story from his childhood. We learn a little more about the sins of Ben Caspere. Three different detectives get three different sets of orders. Cashflow problems abound.
"How's that for social theory?" [more inside]posted by the man of twists and turns on Jun 28, 2015 at 11:24 PM - 108 comments

The disappearance of the city manager of Vinci, CA (based on Vernon, CA) disrupts a lucrative land scheme and ignites an investigation involving three police officers (Collin Farrell, Rachel McAdams, Taylor Kitsch) and a career criminal (Vince Vaughn) who is moving into legitimate business. [more inside]posted by the man of twists and turns on Jun 21, 2015 at 7:00 PM - 107 comments

Case files... We're gonna hafta be lookin' at these records with fresh eyes, alright? Like we're totally green. Marty and Rust use every last resource to chase down Marty's hunch about the green-eared spaghetti monster. Green eyes, green ears, green paint, and then the Yellow King in Carcosa. [more inside]posted by carsonb on Nov 4, 2014 at 11:48 AM - 7 comments

Rust convinces Marty that he has a debt, and the two begin to work together on the investigation again after a decade. Aside from one brief jaunt back to recount Rust's interview of Johnny Joanie, the story mostly moves forward in the present time as they follow up on the missing persons reports (not) filed about Marie Fontenot. [more inside]posted by carsonb on Oct 28, 2014 at 12:13 PM - 6 comments

All the threads through 1995 and into 2002 begin to weave together as we watch the fate of both Marty's marriage and Rust's investigation. Cohle visits the families of missing children and follows up with old leads Joel Theriot and Reverend Tuttle, and realizes that his fears about the scope of the problem might have been an underestimation. Hart makes good on his down payment at the Bunny Ranch, and beats the crap outta pretty much ever'one. And in an oddly empty scene (that is, one with neither Rust or Marty in it) Papania and Gilbough bring in Maggie for some friendly questioning: In a former life I used to exhaust myself navigating crude men who thought they were clever.[more inside]posted by carsonb on Oct 21, 2014 at 8:52 PM - 3 comments

Time is a flat circle. The story and its telling deviate explicitly, as Rust and Marty wrap up their respective interviews with Gilbough and Papania by relating the culminating, heroic events of their 1995 investigation and summarizing the subsequent several years. [more inside]posted by carsonb on Oct 14, 2014 at 11:31 AM - 3 comments

The Detectives jump on the Reggie Ledoux lead, retracing some steps but altogether making progress in a new direction, earning leeway with their commanding officer in the process. But Rust's history and Marty's present personal situation make timely and not-so-timely intrusions (respectively), and the seeming inexorability of their plan to find Ledoux weighs heavy on them both. [more inside]posted by carsonb on Oct 7, 2014 at 7:58 PM - 8 comments

Rust and Marty put off handing the case over to the fly-in boys for as long as possible, following scant leads to remote locations and coming away with a description of the monster at the end of their story as well as a name. A tall man, with facial scars. "Reggie Ledoux." The world needs bad men. We keep the other bad men from the door. - Rust | You just look them in the eyes and the whole story's right there. - Cohle [more inside]posted by carsonb on Oct 1, 2014 at 1:32 PM - 5 comments

The interview continues, Rust and Marty illustrate just how boring and frustrating chasing gossamer leads can be, and we continue to examine their slow drive investigation of Dorie Lang's murder and interpersonal relationships.
— Days of nothing. That's what it's like to work cases.
Days of... lost dogs.
— It goes on like that.... you know the job. Lookin' for narrative.
Interrogate witnesses. Partial evidence. Establish a timeline. Build a story.
Day after day. [more inside]posted by carsonb on Sep 22, 2014 at 4:50 PM - 16 comments

Meet LA State Police Criminal Investigation Division Detectives Martin Eric 'Marty' Hart (Woody Harrelson) and Rustin Spencer 'Rust' Cohle (Matthew McConaughey), both retired from the force, as they each sit down with State CID detectives in 2012 to go over an old homicide case of theirs from 1995 that has mysteriously resurfaced. As Nic Pizzolatto's story seeps slowly out of director Cary Joji Fukunaga's vision of their recollections, dank and withered and burned out hollow, the tale of occult, ritual, (iconic, planned) murder emerges from the jungle of coastal Louisiana like so much aluminum-tinged smoke and ash. People out here, it's like they don’t even know the outside world exists.[more inside]posted by carsonb on Sep 15, 2014 at 2:58 PM - 10 comments

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